February 12, 2026 – Thought Marketing Allison J. Taylor and Escape The Clock Dan Rodgers

Allison Taylor – CEO & Co-Founder of Discerna.ai, CEO & Founder of Thought Marketing and Author of Power Up Product Management

Sometimes we’re reluctant entrepreneurs. Sometimes we don’t know we’re going to be an entrepreneur until later.

Allison Taylor is a Silicon Valley technology go-to-market strategist and entrepreneur who has brought over 20 enterprise software solutions and services to market across 35 countries, representing over $3 billion in revenue. An award-winning cybersecurity veteran, Allison consults international senior leadership and their diverse cross-generational teams on growth strategies as Founder and CEO of consulting firm Thought Marketing. She is also a co-founder of AI tech start-up Discerna.ai. Allison’s clients have included Honeywell, EMC/Dell and GE, in addition to many early and mid-stage cybersecurity, SaaS, and cloud start-ups worldwide. Her vast operating experience adds a dynamic practitioner view, drawing from cybersecurity product leadership positions at McAfee and Nokia, strategist roles at Sun Microsystems (now Oracle), and corporate communications leadership at legendary cybersecurity pioneer Check Point Software. She has co-authored two Routledge, Taylor & Francis books, with a third on the way for Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Cybersecurity, in close collaboration with a global cross-discipline team of experts in law, medicine, and engineering. Allison founded her first company at age 24 and is a former Middle East journalist and New York City trade press editor. She is often described as an “energy bomb,” passionate about the human condition and its relationship with technology and innovation. Allison speaks multiple languages and holds an M.S. from San Jose State University (technology diffusion among software developers) and a B.A. in Spanish and Journalism from the University of Richmond, Virginia in addition to many domain-specific certifications Dan Rodgers – Host of Escape the Clock Podcast and Author of Escape The Clock: Your Program Guide for Financial Freedom and Early Retirement

The real trick is understanding how to get your money to work for you, so that you’re making money when you’re asleep, and that you get to a point where that money has grown to a point where now you have options, and now you’re less worried about your job.

Dan Rodgers is the award-winning author of Escape The Clock: Your Program Guide for Financial Freedom and Early Retirement and the host of the Escape the Clock Podcast. With more than 20 years of experience as a lead program manager at major tech companies, including Microsoft and Google, Dan applied the disciplined planning and execution skills he used in his career to his personal finances and achieved financial independence in his early 40s. His book has received multiple honors, including the American Writing Award, the PenCraft Best Book Award, and the Literary Titan Medal, and it presents a structured, actionable approach to financial freedom that treats personal finance goals like a program to be planned, tracked, and executed. Dan’s work goes beyond theory, focusing on clear steps to reduce debt, build wealth, and design a life where work becomes optional rather than necessary. Through his podcast he breaks down practical strategies for listeners at all stages of their financial journey, sharing insights on investing, risk management, and the mindset shifts needed to escape the traditional work cycle. Based in Washington State, Dan also volunteers teaching financial literacy, offers free one-on-one financial coaching, speaks on financial independence topics, and continues writing to help others reclaim control of their time and money.